Unseen Scars
by elf-meat
Summary: Naruto disappears for three years because of a jutsu Orochimaru uses. when he returns he isn't the same person he used to be. and what happend to Kyuubi? full summary inside
1. Remembering

**Full Summary: **Using a new jutsu, Orochimaru sent Naruto to some other dimension while Naruto was trying to convince Sasuke to come back to the Leaf Village. Everybody thinks that Naruto was killed. Three years later he returns and his mind and body are slowly falling apart due to what happened to him after Orochimaru sent him away. It's up to the Rookie Nine and team Gai to get the old Naruto back and to protect the boy from enemies and from himself.

**Warnings:** Everybody will probably be a little OOC. And this will NOT I repeat NOT be Yaoi slash or whatever you like to call it.

**Pairings: **ShikamaruxIno, LeexSakura, NejixTenten and KibaxHinata: this story will only mention these, not go into great detail. I couldn't write romance if my life depended on it.

* * *

**Unseen Scars**

Chapter 1: Remembering

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto why would I be writing this on Uchiha stared at the name written on the stone in front of him. It was because of that name that Sasuke was now in Konoha instead of with Orochimaru. It had been all Sasuke's fault that his best friend Naruto Uzamaki was killed.

* * *

They had been fighting again. Only this time they were both holding back, not wanting a repeat of what happened during their last battle. Both did not want to admit it but their last fight had scared them both. They didn't want to release the raw power that both had displayed. Despite everything Sasuke claimed he was not yet ready to kill they boy who he would never admit to being best friends with.

**Flashback:**

"Why Sasuke, why leave all the people who care about you for that-that snake guy?" Naruto swung a punch at the others head, which was dodged easily.

"I told you before Naruto he can give me the power to defeat my brother and that is all that I care about," he responded kicking the other boy in the chest, knocking him down. "That is all I have ever cared about."

"Well then I guess you really are no better than your brother are you?"

"Nobody asked you dobe." Sasuke could feel the curse mark on his next begin to overtake him as Naruto stood to face him.

"I promised I would bring you back to Konoha. I will not go back on my word." The scars on Naruto's cheeks grew darker as he launched himself at Sasuke.

Suddenly Orochimaru was in front of Sasuke, then Naruto was gone. No scream, no grand battle, no blood. The other boy was just gone.

**End of Flashback**

What happened next was still a blur to Sasuke. All he knew is that he wasn't ready to lose Naruto so he tried to kill Orochimaru. He woke up in the Hospital chained to his bed three weeks later. He spent the next nine months in prison. After that Tsunade had to follow the villagers demand that their "hero" be free.

It was a matter of days after he returned to Konoha that everybody knew that Naruto was the vessel of Kyuubi. The villagers all saw Sasuke as a hero claiming that he had only gone with Orochimaru knowing that eventually he would kill Naruto, and free the village of the demon.

"Sasuke?" He was pulled out of his thoughts by the voice of his old teammate.

It had taken the others _(Rookie nine and Team Gai if you didn't know)_ only a year after he returned, three months after he was released from prison, to accept him back into the group. It was the anniversary of Naruto's death. They had all met at the memorial for those who were KIA. (It turned out that while Sasuke was imprisoned Ino and Sakura got over whatever rivalry they had with each other and both gave up on ever having Sasuke as their own. Ino started going out with Shikamaru and Sakura had finally given into Lee's please to go out with him.) That night they all vowed that one day one of them would become Hokage in order to fulfill Naruto's dream for him and went about it the only way they knew how: becoming as strong as possible. They all practiced and trained harder than ever and it was only a year and a half later that they all had become ANBU.

"Yes Sakura?"

"The others will be here soon." It had become a tradition for the group to meet at the stone the night that marked Naruto's death every year to honor blond. Tsunade would always make sure that they didn't have much to do so that the group could do whatever they felt they had to do to honor their friend.

"The others are here."

Sasuke and Sakura turned to see the rest of their squad. They were the largest ANBU squad in the history of Konoha (**a/n: I'm not sure how big ANBU squads are so yeah**) but that's how they liked it: they worked best together. Shortly after Sasuke and Sakura had become ANBU (about a year ago) their old sensei had taken up his old position as an ANBU captain. The Hokage appointed Kakashi the captain of Iruka, Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, and Shino. The rest of their squad joined as they gained the rank of ANBU. Gai had joined after Iruka had been killed during a mission.

"Oh joy, it's dog boy," Sasuke joked. Ever sense he had given up trying to avenge his clan he had been slightly happier with his life style. He was able to joke and to have friends without worrying. The only person he was interested in killing now was Orochimaru (and Itachi if the chance came up). But unlike with his brother he wasn't the only one thirsting for revenge.

"Oh come on Sasuke you know you like me," said Kiba throwing an arm around said boys shoulders.

"Don't make me rip your arms off dog breath."

"Touchy." Kiba removed his arm and put it around Hinata's waist.

This was how it was every year. They wouldn't mourn. They would joke around and celebrate the life of their friend. It was how Naruto would want it: A fun time for those who were closest to him to remember him.

"Let's get this party started," Ino cheered attaching herself to Shikamaru's arm.

"Well kiddies Gai and I decided that sense it was a special occasion and all that just this once we would give you all a present." Both Kakashi and Gai pulled out bottles of sake.

"Lee your not allowed to have any."

"If you say so Sakura."

The night was spent drinking, laughing, joking, and talking about stupid things that only Naruto could do. At sunrise they all went their separate ways (most likely to take care of their hangovers) waving goodbye to the others.

"Well Naruto, see you tomorrow," Sasuke whispered wishing that he would be able to see his friend for real and not just talk to a rock

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**To be continued…. **

**A/n: I'm hoping that Chapter 2 will be longer but we'll see**

**Chapter2 : the return**


	2. The Return

Chapter2: The Return

**Disclaimer**: _I can't think of a witty way to say that I don't own Naruto right now!_

"Talking"

'Thinking'

* * *

"Alright team. All we have for tonight is patrol." It was the night after their "meeting" and they were back to work. "The girls will take the training fields, yes all of them Ino and don't complain. Sasuke, Neji, and Shino take the North. Chouji, Shikamaru, and Kiba take the south. Lee, Gai, and I will take the east and the west. Meet back here at dawn." With that they all went to their assigned area.

* * *

"Why the heck do we always have to patrol the training fields?"

"Shut up Ino."

"You took the words right out of my mouth Tenten."

"But there so many of them."

"Ino-"

"Hey who's that." Hinata cut Sakura off pointing to a figure in the middle of the field.

"Not sure Hinata he doesn't look familiar," Sakura said thinking of everyone she knows. "He looks like a kid though."

"Well whoever he is he sure doesn't have any fashion sense. I mean no one wears Orange."

"Shut up Ino," both Sakura and Tenten yelled.

"Hey I think he's hurt," said Hinata slowly going towards the boy pulling out a kunai just in case.

The others followed her example and slowly walked up to the stranger. Sakura, being the best medic nin out of the four, knelt down next to the boy. 'There's bloods everywhere,' she thought looking at his hair. In the night sky his hair had looked black but as she got closer she discovered that his hair was actually a light blond covered in blood.

Sakura gulped. This was hitting a little to close to home for her comfort. The last blond who wore orange that she knew was Naruto. She turned the boy over to get a better look at his wounds.

The girls all took in the familiar features and the three whisker-like scars on each cheek and did the only thing that they could do in their panicked state. They all screamed.

* * *

"Sasuke that sounded like the girls," Neji spoke softly.

"Let's check it out."

* * *

"How troublesome the girls got themselves into trouble. Come on lets go check it out."

"Why, we know that someone else will," Kiba said.

"I know but if I don't go Ino's gonna be mad at me."

"Good point. Lead on pineapple head."

"Don't call me that dog breath."

* * *

"That sounded like Sakura. Don't worry I'll save you Sakura."

"Lee wait for me."

"Why did I pair myself with these idiots again?"

* * *

The boy's eyes instantly sprang open as soon as the girls started screaming. He pushed Sakura away from him and ran towards the forest on the edge of the training field. He just barley made it to the first tree before his legs gave out. He started crawling frantically trying to get away but he just hit a tree. He sat up and hugged his knees to his chest burying his face in his knees.

"Hey are you alright," Kiba asked being the first one to arrive.

The girls looked behind them to see the rest of their squad behind them. They couldn't say anything so they just nodded. "Whose that," asked Neji pointing to the boy.

"Well, we don't know, but we think that it might be…" Hinata trailed off.

Sakura wasn't listening to the conversation at all. She was focused on the boy before her. She cautiously crouched down and started making her way slowly towards the boy once more. She made sure not to make any sudden movements so she wouldn't startle the boy. As she moved closer she noticed that his cloths were in rags and a pool of blood had begun to form around him. 'He looks like a skeleton,' she thought as she got closer. She reached up to put a hand on his shoulder but quickly withdrew when he flinched violently.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she said quietly. Scared blue eyes met hers. The boy did not say anything so she simply went to work. 'He looks so much like-' she couldn't finish her thought it was just too painful to think about. 'It can't be can it?'

She finished healing what she could, she stood up and offered her hand to help the boy up only to find him quickly cover his head as if he were going to be hit.

"What is going on here?"

Sakura turned to find the Hokage, Jiraiya and the rest of her team looking at her expectantly. Ino, Tenten, and Hinata all just shrugged apologetically.

"We found this boy, and he was hurt so I decided to help him," she said quietly.

"Then what was all the screaming about," Kakashi asked slightly annoyed that nothing seemed to be wrong.

"W-well h-he looks like N-Naruto." Sakura blushed when she realized that she sounded like Hinata before Naruto had disappeared. The young girl had worked hard to get rid of the stutter and become more confident.

Before anyone else could move a hand covered Sakura's mouth and a knife was put across her throat. "Don't say that name," a horse voice whispered harshly into her ear.

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**Well that was fun… tune in next time to see what happens… hopefully it won't be to** **long…**


	3. A Broken Mind

**Chapter 3: A Broken Mind**

**Disclaimer**_(author is sitting there surrounded by lawyers with various lawsuits) Oh I guess your right. I don't own Naruto, my bad…_

"Talking" 

'Thinking'

* * *

"Naruto let her go," Jiraiya told his, he could only assume, old apprentice.

"I said not to say that name." He pushed Sakura away. "How do you know that name anyway?"

"Naruto?" he glanced at Sakura who was now standing behind Lee. His eyes widened in shock and surprise. "Why can't we say your name?"

"S-Sakura," he croaked out. "How can this be? No, not again. I don't want to see this again." He dropped down onto the ground holding his head tears now streaming down his face.

"Jiraiya, that can't be Naruto. It just can't," Tsunade glared at the boy who was posing as Naruto. "He died."

"We never found the body," Jiraiya pointed out. "Don't you remember that jutsu sensei told us about? Sunpou no jutsu?"

"Sunpou no jutsu? What the heck is that," asked Kakashi.

"It's a jutsu that sends someone to a different dimension. Eventually the jutsu wears off or is stopped and the person returns. That or they die and all that returns is a body," Tsunade explained quietly, staring at the boy on the ground. "But it's impossible to learn. All traces of the jutsu were destroyed."

"You don't think Orochimaru could figure out how to do it," Jiraiya asked as he took a step towards Naruto.

The group of ANBU just stared not knowing what to say or what to believe. The young boy on the ground couldn't be their friend he just couldn't. He was far too small, quiet, and the frightened look in his eyes was something they had never seen from the hyper active ninja.

"Naruto?" Jiraiya approached they boy slowly, speaking in a gentle voice no one would have ever thought he possessed. He put a hand on Naruto's thin shoulder.

He flinched away from the touch. "G-go away. Your not really here so just leave me alone," Naruto screamed. "I don't want to see this again so just go away and leave me alone."

Sasuke followed Jiraiya's lead surprising everybody. "What don't you want to see again," he quietly asked, making sure not to touch the boy.

"This, any of this. It's not real. They are all safe at home. Please tell me they're safe."

"What are you talking about?"

"Sasuke?"

"Naruto," he frowned as he saw the boy flinch at the name of his best friend.

"Please don't say that name." The boy was begging now.

"Why not?" Sasuke was getting frustrated. If this boy wanted to pretend to be his friend then why flinch at the mere mention of his name.

"Because you'll be dead before dawn if _she_ hears you."

"Who is she?"

"Shhh you don't want her to hear you."

"Okay I've had about enough of this." Everybody turned towards Kakashi. He stood there his visible eye glaring at the blond still on the ground. "You," he pointed to the boy trembling on the ground, "what is your name and business here? And don't lie."

Kakashi gasped as his eye met the sparkling blue he thought only one person could have. These eyes were different from the ones he once knew, so full of hope and determination, now full of fear and pain.

The boy didn't say anything so Tsunade took over. "There is only one way to know for sure if this is Naruto. We have to check and see if the seal is there."

"You have to have him mold chakra. I don't think that he will do that for us," Jiraiya explained looking at the boy who was still staring at Kakashi.

"Fine then. Ino check out his mind."

With the command the blonde simply started doing the hand signs to enter into the other blonde's mind. Over the years she had learned how to enter someone's mind and collect information. It came in handy while doing interrogations.

When she finally entered into his mind she couldn't help but gasp. She had never seen anything like this. Usually a person's mind would have walls with certain doors that someone could go through and lights so that she could see around. As she looked around she saw the walls crumbling and a faint flicker of light barely enough to see what was in front of her. She walked a little closer to the walls to examine them. To her it looked as if there were large claw marks all along the ruins. She wasn't sure what she was looking for but she was pretty sure she knew that at one point in time the mind she had entered did belong to Naruto. After seeing the damage she just wasn't sure if it was still him.

The she rounded a corner and found a huge cage. It was flung open and the seal that once held it together was in shreds.

"You shouldn't be here."

Ino turned to see and eleven-year-old Naruto standing behind her. "Why not?" She could feel the tears in here eyes start to fall as she looked at her friend the way they all had remembered. The eyes however were the same eyes the boy that they found had.

"Because she'll know you're here."

"Who are you talking about Naruto?"

"The witch." Two simple words meant all the difference in Naruto's mind. His eyes started to cloud over and a shrill laugh rang through his mind while the flickering light died. The ruble from the once strong walls started to fly around them both hitting Ino in various places leaving bruises and scratches.

It only lasted for a minute or two before Ino felt herself being dragged back to her body.

* * *

"What's taking her so long," Sakura asked worried about Ino.

"Hey if it really is Naruto she is probably wondering where all the empty space is from," laughed Kiba.

"That's not very nice," Hinata reprimanded quietly looking at the two people in front of her. It was common for both Ino and the person she entered to loose consciousness while she performed this particular jutsu.

"Guys something weird is going on," Shikamaru said examining his girlfriend. Bruises were starting to show along with a few scratches.

"Pull her out of there," Tsunade commanded.

Shikamaru nodded and went to work performing the jutsu Ino had taught him just incase something like this had happened. Not long after he started Ino regained consciousness.

She sat up and looked around frantically, until her eyes fell on Naruto and she scrambled towards him. His eyes were open, but that was the only indication that he had rejoined the land of the living. Ino pushed away from Shikamaru, who mumbled "how troublesome," and made her way towards the small boy on the ground.

"Naruto, wake up Naruto." When no response came she started shaking him. "Naruto come on it's not real it's all in your head now wake up." It didn't work. All of a sudden an idea came to her. "She's not here Naruto. She won't heart you or anyone else but you have to wake up."

"Ino what's going on?"

She turned to see Sakura pulling her hair into a ponytail and kneeling next to Naruto.

"It's him Sakura."

"Are you sure," asked Tsunade from behind both of the girls.

"I'm sure. It is or rather was him at one time."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

Both girls looked to find Sasuke on Naruto's other side. "His mind. I don't know how to explain it but it looks broken."

"What about Kyuubi," asked Jiraiya.

"It's gone."

* * *

**A/N : So any questions so far… 'cause if you don't I got a few for ya. Like who's "The Witch"? What did she do to Naruto to make him act like that? How the heck is Kyuubi gone but Naruto's not dead? (Gosh my grammar sucks) Find out the answers to the questions and more…not next time but eventually. **

**I do not swear. Therefore there will be no swearing in my story… I realize that some of the characters do swear but I choose not to. That is one of the reasons they are a little OOC**

**Another thing that will make everybody OOC is that Naruto (someone who never had a real childhood and who has just gone through something very traumatic) will act a lot like a kid (except during certain parts of the story snicker) and it will bring out the protective side of everyone. Especially Sasuke. **

**Looking for a beta reader because well my grammar sucks, as stated above, and my spelling is horrible… if interested please send me a private message and I will get back to you…**

**Oh yeah…PLEASE REVIEW!!! Please? **


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